Taxi! Where to? The San Juan Islands please!

and knows all of their “nooks and crannies,” said friend and fellow sailor, Arnold Korbmacher.
Leap Frog Water Taxi, when it’s not hopping from island to island picking up and dropping off passengers, is moored at the Bellingham Cruise Terminal in Fairhaven but really, as McGown says, “his office is in his pocket.”
McGown frequently operates his business from inside the spacious and immaculate 12 person cabin receiving phone calls, emails and text messages anywhere and at any given time.  Relying on his mobile device and the islands’ dependable wireless service, McGown offers accessibility, convenience and flexible scheduling which facilitate meeting “the greater needs” of his customers.
Approximately 50 percent of Leap Frog’s clientele are islanders who live or have property on the islands. “I just hop on and go,” said Sal Papetti, a commercial fisherman and summer resident of Eliza Island.  “I have my own boat,” said Papetti, “but I’d prefer to ride with Bill” thus avoiding expenses and hassles associated with boat moorage and maintenance.  Leap Frog provides islanders an “excellent, affordable and dependable service”, says Papetti who really appreciates the flexible schedule.
Bob Foster and his wife, Virginia, have for the past 5 decades, alternated living between Bellingham and Blakely Island, staying a week or so at each residence respectively.  Since Foster, a former pilot, just stopped flying his ‘little Cessna 172’ a couple of years ago at age 92, he and his wife have found they’re on the Leap Frog Water Taxi approximately three times per month.  Foster said they appreciate the ‘frequent rider’ discount as well as the boat’s spaciousness because “of course every time you go over you take something other than food,” said Bob.  After all he says, “there are no stores on the island.”
McGown says many of the 170 islands that make up San Juan County are open to the public but are not well known or publicized.  As a self-proclaimed ‘adventurer’, he especially loves it when he gets to transport like-minded adventure seekers to these pristine public places where they can camp, cycle or kayak within what he calls “a recreational paradise.”   The belly of the bow provides a large cargo space and the stable boat comes equipped with racks, which easily accommodate their gear, even the kayaks.
McGown’s boat, says Korbmacher, has a ladder over its bow, and is “ideally suited for San Juan beach landings.”  Built by local Bellingham ship builder All American Marine, it was originally designed for fishing charters out of southeast Alaska.  “It’s a big, stable boat,” said McGown, “it’s a rock.” The strong hull, McGown says can “handle the punishment [of] grinding up and down Northwest beaches” which increases his customers’ accessibility to customized recreational opportunities.
“Bill also knows when and where to see the wildlife,” says Korbmacher.  “Eagles, peregrine falcons, harbor seals, and river otters, not to mention the 3 separate pods of orca whales” all abound within the area he says with authority, as Korbmacher himself is a licensed captain and former local whale watching charter operator.  He also is McGown’s backup captain.
During a recent trip to Vendovi, the elusive, previously private island, now owned by the San Juan Preservation Trust (SJPT), McGown told passengers as they comfortably travelled past a rocky ‘white’ island, “The eagles live on Vendovi, but …,” he added with a chuckle, “they have lunch at Viti Rocks.”  McGown says you always know when the Eagles are ‘visiting Viti’ because of the crazed frenzy of hovering, squawking seagulls!
The quick and quiet water taxi is not just serving islanders and adventure seekers but McGown says he has remarkably provided island accessibility to people with vastly varied needs.  Leap Frog plays a vital link in a larger transportation network, says McGown, providing for example quick trips to port for those needing to catch flights out of Bellingham or in reverse, arranging for late arrivals to meet up with family or friends who are already cruising at sea.  Whether it’s a private spontaneous tour or spreading loved-ones’ ashes out to sea, “Leap Frog will do anything on the water,” said McGown, who is, incidentally, licensed to perform the latter duty.
Chad Foley, caretaker of Vendovi Island, recalls an occasion when he had to call on McGown for help during some sudden, stormy weather.  He was hosting his young son’s birthday party and had a small group of boys out to the island for the birthday celebration.  When the wind kicked up and a small craft wind advisory was issued, Foley was uncomfortable risking the ride back to San Juan Island’s Friday Harbor in his own smaller watercraft.  Knowing the capabilities of the Leap Frog Water Taxi, a quick call had McGown there and returning the boys safely home.
Situated just 20 miles west of Bellingham (the approximate distance between Bellingham and Lynden), Korbmacher says, the San Juan Islands “are not that far away.”  Leap Frog Water Taxi will get to most destinations within two hours from Fairhaven harbor.
As but one way of many to get to the San Juan Islands, Leap Frog Water Taxi aims to open up the islands to everyone.  What Bill McGown wants to let people know is that they “are connected to this amazing place” and he can take them there.